Super-senior fee needs second look

California State University trustees on Tuesday put off a decision on higher fees for so-called "super seniors," students who in some cases hang around college because, well, it beats looking for work.

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Posted Nov. 15, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Posted Nov. 15, 2012 at 12:01 AM

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California State University trustees on Tuesday put off a decision on higher fees for so-called "super seniors," students who in some cases hang around college because, well, it beats looking for work.

The delay, CSU officials said, was to give the idea more study. Opposition from faculty and students had been considerable.

But the delay also had something to do with the unusual appearance of Gov. Jerry Brown at the Long Beach meeting. He was there to thank CSU students and faculty for their help in passing Proposition 30 last week.

It just would not have been courteous to upstage the governor's visit with a vote on a contentious issue like upping student fees.

Still, the higher fee - carefully crafted - seems reasonable.

It aims at students who take classes again and again because of low grades. And at students who take well over what's considered a full load of classes. And at students who've earned more than the credits needed to graduate, but somehow never get around to graduating.

By increasing fees on such students the thinking is it provides an incentive to get moving. That will open up spaces for new students.

But with the budget cuts at CSU in recent years, many classes increasingly are hard to get. That slows progress.

And then there are students who change majors - most students do - and that slows progress. And there are students who take a heavy class load to push through quickly, say in three years rather than four.

You don't want to slap extra fees on a second semester sophomore who discovers that organic chemistry isn't for them, but history is.